NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Power purchase from renewable sources may be made mandatory in West Bengal
THE State electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) are now planning to make it mandatory for utilities meet a certain part of their power purchase requirements from non-conventional sources. Mr S.P. Gonchowdhury, Director of the West Bengal ... More

CEMENT
In the cement sector, size does matter
CONSOLIDATION is the name of the game in the cement industry, with the top five companies set to corner nearly 60 per cent of the country's total installed capacity of 150 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) through the acquisitions and strategic ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES

ECONOMY
Chidambaram seeks `new ideas' to boost investments — Chambers divided on proposed cess to support education
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Friday formally kick-started his pre-Budget consultation process with India Inc, seeking `new and innovative ideas' for spurring investment and job creation in the economy. In a meeting stretching ... More

`US committed to globalisation'
DESPITE protests from the Americans against business process outsourcing (BPO), the US Government is committed to globalisation, according to Mr Lee Brudvig, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy in India. He was addressing ... More

ENVIRONMENT
`Tech package, private role must to develop wastelands'
INNOVATIVE public policies that address the needs of small and marginal farmers and also the corporate sector will help develop wastelands, according to Dr M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, National Commission on Agriculture. Policies should be ... More

VUDA unveils green project
The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) has proposed a Rs 90-crore project, Harita (green) Visakha, aimed at eco conservation, protection of natural systems and increasing green cover during the next four years. The proposals have ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Italy keen on boosting trade ties
THE Italian Government is eager to increase bilateral trade with India and Italian enterprises are interested in the leather and jewellery sector of West Bengal, according to Mr Antonio Armellini, Italian Ambassador to India. Italy is the tenth ... More

Focus on Mercosur, India transcontinental trade
AN initiative on transcontinental trade co-operation between Mercosur, a trading bloc of South American countries led by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and India would be on focus at a special forum on `Regionalism and South-South ... More

HEALTH

PETROLEUM
Expedite Kochi LNG project, CM tells Centre
The project, vital for the State's industrial growth, is estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore and has been pending since 1997. More

Ominous time for global oil industry
THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the world's largest oil exporting cartel decision to increase production by 2 million barrels a day is less than what the market was expecting - 2.5 million ... More

Rajbandh depot fire: IOC rules out disruption in supply
INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC) today ruled out any dislocation in the supply of petrol in the areas served by its Rajbandh (Durgapur) depot where one of the storage tanks has been ravaged by fire following a lightning strike during yesterday's ... More

GAIL plans to reduce tariffs for customers
GAIL is planning to offer reduced tariffs to its customers, passing on the benefits of savings worth Rs 615 crore on account of reduced project costs. Delivering the Presidential address at the seventh CEOs' conference, Mr Proshanto Banerjee, ... More

PLASTICS
Plastics export body chalks out plan to tap US market
THE Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil), in a bid to tap the potential for plastic consumer items in the US, has chalked out a five-pronged action plan as part of a major strategy under the Government of India's Market Access ... More

POWER
Dabhol lenders' talks remain inconclusive
TALKS between Dabhol Power Company's (DPC) Indian and foreign lenders over the price at which the former will buy out dollar-denominated loans remained inconclusive for the second day in a row on Friday. The Indian lenders will meet the foreign ... More

NTPC IPO plans on track; SEBI approval received
THE planned public offer of shares by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is on track and is likely to hit the market by end-July or early-August. However, against the earlier planned 10 per cent offering, the company will now offer only ... More

`Subsidies only after tariff hike orders'
THE West Bengal Power Minister, Mr Mrinal Banerjee, has said that he will wait for the tariff hike orders for all the utilities to be announced before taking any decision on giving relief to any class of consumers. Speaking to the press after a ... More

TYRES
Tyre makers seek customs duty cut on natural rubber
THE domestic tyre industry has urged the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, to lower the basic customs duty on natural rubber from 20 per cent to 10 per cent in the forthcoming Budget. In its pre-Budget submissions to the Finance Ministry, ... More

WATER
Kolkata corpn to overhaul water supply network
THE water distribution system in the city is set to be modernised with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) chalking out a plan to this effect, according to the city mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee. Participating in an interactive session with ... More

MANAGEMENT
Sona management school identified as nodal centre
THE All-India Management Association (AIMA), New Delhi, has identified Sona School of Management (SSM), part of Sona College of Technology, Salem as a nodal centre that would act as a delivery point for spreading management education and to ... More

ELECTRICAL GOODS
IEEMA seeks lower import duties on raw materials
THE Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA), in its wish list to the new Government, has sought redressal for some critical issues, including the high rate of import duties on raw materials, particularly metals used ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Homing in on new Gurgaon-Sohna road
THE Gurgaon-Sohna road has emerged as the latest area of rapid development in the National Capital Region with a host of developers including the Vatika Group, Parsvnath, Unitech and Jaipurias announcing residential and commercial projects in the ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS
Kochi to have apparel park run by women
THE State Government is promoting a `Women Apparel Park' in Kochi, aimed at bringing under one roof disparate readymade garment units in and around the city. The park, being set up as a public limited company, will have about 25 members to ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING
I&B Ministry not to allow IHT publication
THE Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has decided not to permit the publication of International Herald Tribune (IHT) by the Hyderabad-based Midram Publication Private Ltd. It has written to Midram Publication and ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
`Panchayati raj best bet to improve rural services'
THE twin Constitutional Amendments and affirmative legislation by the States underpinning decentralisation in India apart, vibrant local Government bodies undertaking services for the rural people, have not been in place for want of real ... More

EVENTS
Travel meet put off
MUMBAI: The meeting between representatives of the Travel Agents' Association of India (TAAI) and the Travel Agents' Federation of India (TAFI), which was scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to next Friday (June 11). According to a ... More

Stitching technology
One of the stalls at `Gar_Fab 2004', which showcased technology in the garment industry in Bangalore on Friday. The exhibition will be on till Sunday.

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I-Manager job fair to begin at Thiruvananthapuram
I-MANAGER, a management training and educational consulting group, will be conduct a job fair here on Saturday and Sunday. More than 16 companies will be participating in the fair to be held at the Mar Ivanios College and 1,000-odd jobs will ... More

STANDARDS & BENCHMARKS